Post by Da Boss on Aug 16, 2020 11:11:46 GMT -5
All of the White Wolf games (now Onyx Path) are built upon an idea of collaborative storytelling. This can take on many forms, and here at Rage Across the Bloodied Ground it means something very different than what the staff has found at other sites. Specifically, here, it means that while the staff has worked very hard to develop a very rich and involved setting for everyone to enjoy, it is not "our" setting; it is everyone's setting. We are not here to just tell you the story of what happens and to let your characters shape the direction of the plots that we decide to run. You, the player, are as involved in shaping the setting that we have created as we are! That being said, this does place a great burden upon your shoulders for coming to play here. But, it is one we are happy to show you how to carry.
For starters, as many people that have made characters before the full launch have found out, we take the "Ferner" House Rule very seriously and will put it on characters whose backstories involve them being away from the protectorate for extended periods of time. The goal here isn't to punish players for playing an Irish Fianna, or the second cousin to Queen Tvarivich, or the great-grandson of the Margrave. Those are all fun character concepts that are fun to play with! The problem with them (although problem isn't exactly the right word) is that this game is set in Kentucky; hundreds and thousands of miles away from Russia, Ireland, Europe, or even the North Country Protectorate and Jonas Albrecht. Characters that are tied to those canon NPCs don't help flesh out and shape how things are at the Bloodied Ground Protectorate until after they show up and often show up with only the clothes on their back (proverbially). Meanwhile, a character that is a member of the McKinney, Haws, McCoy, O'Dyer, Warren, Bulkos, Moore, etc. families are helping to flesh out and shape the setting not just for your characters but for the other players as well.
Many of you (especially players with active characters) will notice that friends, allies, enemies, lovers, parents, and siblings are showing up in the Setting Information pages. While you may have this person in your background, and they may be listed on your sheet, they don't exist in a vacuum. There is no reason that, if your family has been a part of a Sept for years, that other people wouldn't know who they are, have interactions with them, have opinions of them, fall in love with or come hate them, etc. How you write your backstory matters to us, because it is another piece of what we're all creating here.
Others have found that, when they take dots of things like Ancestors and Kinfolk, we ask that you flesh those out more than just having dots on the sheet. Ancestor Spirits are the spiritual representations of garou who have accomplished such amazing deeds that their stories have transcended legend and taken on a life of their own. Other garou will have heard of these people! They will know the legends, hear the tales, know their stories, have their favorites among them. Kinfolk are living, breathing, people in the setting that have their own wants and desires, and will have their own dealings with other players and NPCs. Other people will see them, meet them, learn from them, and deal with them. While we could write all of this for you, that tends to lead to situations where your vision and our vision don't sync up together and it harms the game overall. So, help us out, and give us names, what they're like generally, something that let's us flesh these things out in a way that fits with your idea.
Lastly, games like this require a great deal of player agency. As you will come to learn, our staff is very fond of the "Yes, and..." style of storytelling. Outside of a few instances where things don't fit with already established characters and NPCs, or don't follow our character creation rules, the staff has been very honest about, "Yes, you can do that, and it will have the following consequences. Is that still something you wish to do" during character creation. However, that extends beyond character creation as well. While there are some plot threads that will be thrown directly at the Septs and Protectorate as a whole, those things are being thrown at an entire Sept or the entire Protectorate. They are going to require multiple players and NPCs coming together to solve the issues, and are not intended to be "this person's plot" or "that person's plot." Those smaller plots are out there! (I know, because I've written about a dozen of them and continue to develop more as new players help shape them or advance old ones in their backgrounds.) However, NPCs are not just going to bare their souls and reveal information to the first garou that walks by. Having free reign to generally do what you want comes with the burden of doing something; look under rocks, request scenes or spend downtimes with the NPCs, dig into what has been written. I promise, the staff has ben very diligent in coming up with all kinds of twists and turns and little nuggets for you to find. We just need you to tell us which ones you want for your character. And that's how you tell us.
For starters, as many people that have made characters before the full launch have found out, we take the "Ferner" House Rule very seriously and will put it on characters whose backstories involve them being away from the protectorate for extended periods of time. The goal here isn't to punish players for playing an Irish Fianna, or the second cousin to Queen Tvarivich, or the great-grandson of the Margrave. Those are all fun character concepts that are fun to play with! The problem with them (although problem isn't exactly the right word) is that this game is set in Kentucky; hundreds and thousands of miles away from Russia, Ireland, Europe, or even the North Country Protectorate and Jonas Albrecht. Characters that are tied to those canon NPCs don't help flesh out and shape how things are at the Bloodied Ground Protectorate until after they show up and often show up with only the clothes on their back (proverbially). Meanwhile, a character that is a member of the McKinney, Haws, McCoy, O'Dyer, Warren, Bulkos, Moore, etc. families are helping to flesh out and shape the setting not just for your characters but for the other players as well.
Many of you (especially players with active characters) will notice that friends, allies, enemies, lovers, parents, and siblings are showing up in the Setting Information pages. While you may have this person in your background, and they may be listed on your sheet, they don't exist in a vacuum. There is no reason that, if your family has been a part of a Sept for years, that other people wouldn't know who they are, have interactions with them, have opinions of them, fall in love with or come hate them, etc. How you write your backstory matters to us, because it is another piece of what we're all creating here.
Others have found that, when they take dots of things like Ancestors and Kinfolk, we ask that you flesh those out more than just having dots on the sheet. Ancestor Spirits are the spiritual representations of garou who have accomplished such amazing deeds that their stories have transcended legend and taken on a life of their own. Other garou will have heard of these people! They will know the legends, hear the tales, know their stories, have their favorites among them. Kinfolk are living, breathing, people in the setting that have their own wants and desires, and will have their own dealings with other players and NPCs. Other people will see them, meet them, learn from them, and deal with them. While we could write all of this for you, that tends to lead to situations where your vision and our vision don't sync up together and it harms the game overall. So, help us out, and give us names, what they're like generally, something that let's us flesh these things out in a way that fits with your idea.
Lastly, games like this require a great deal of player agency. As you will come to learn, our staff is very fond of the "Yes, and..." style of storytelling. Outside of a few instances where things don't fit with already established characters and NPCs, or don't follow our character creation rules, the staff has been very honest about, "Yes, you can do that, and it will have the following consequences. Is that still something you wish to do" during character creation. However, that extends beyond character creation as well. While there are some plot threads that will be thrown directly at the Septs and Protectorate as a whole, those things are being thrown at an entire Sept or the entire Protectorate. They are going to require multiple players and NPCs coming together to solve the issues, and are not intended to be "this person's plot" or "that person's plot." Those smaller plots are out there! (I know, because I've written about a dozen of them and continue to develop more as new players help shape them or advance old ones in their backgrounds.) However, NPCs are not just going to bare their souls and reveal information to the first garou that walks by. Having free reign to generally do what you want comes with the burden of doing something; look under rocks, request scenes or spend downtimes with the NPCs, dig into what has been written. I promise, the staff has ben very diligent in coming up with all kinds of twists and turns and little nuggets for you to find. We just need you to tell us which ones you want for your character. And that's how you tell us.